Education for Freedom:
The History of Schools and Universities During Reconstruction
Christian K. Anderson, Ph.D.
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In the wake of the Civil War the United States entered an era of Reconstruction (1863-1877) to rebuild and reunify the nation. Education was a crucial element to establishing freedom and opportunity for formerly enslaved African Americans. This course will explore the role education played during Reconstruction, in schools and universities in South Carolina. We will study the political changes that made these changes possible.
This course will include visits during class to the Museum of the Reconstruction Era; two institutions founded during Reconstruction in Columbia, Allen University, and Benedict College; and sites on the USC campus, which was integrated during this era. It will also include a one-day trip to Beaufort (Thurs., Feb. 12th) to visit the Reconstruction Era National Park and Penn Center, site of one of the first schools created for the formerly enslaved. Students will help draft an exhibit about education during Reconstruction, which will be exhibited in the Museum of Education during the 2027-28 academic year. Link to Course Materials is available on Blackboard under "Content" tab. |
About the Instructor |
Dr. Christian Anderson is a historian of higher education who has done extensive work about the Reconstruction era at the University of South Carolina. He currently chairs the committee that commemorates the 150th anniversary of Reconstruction and he co-chaired the effort to bring a statue of Richard T. Greener to campus. He is Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Museum of Education.
Email Dr. Anderson with any questions. |
University of South Carolina History
Reconstruction Resources
History of Education Associations and Journals
Writing History
The best way to understand history is to do history. We do history by conducting research and writing up the results of our investigations. This requires reading published research, asking questions, and then going after the sources that will help us answer these questions. A useful document for helping you analyze archival sources is John Thelin's Guidelines for Analyzing Historical Documents (2014, p. xxi).
Most historical publications (books, journals, magazines) use the Chicago Manual of Style as the guide for citing sources. The Notes and Bibliography style is easiest for citing primary sources. Most of the books and articles we read for this class use this as the style guide. Chapter 14.229 provides several examples of how to cite primary sources. You can also use this "cheat sheet" I created as an easy reference. Regardless of which citation system you use, properly acknowledging your sources is essential.
- Our History (UofSC Website)
- History of the Horseshoe (UofSC Website)
- Presidential Commission on University History
- Published Histories of UofSC
- Remembering the Days Podcast
- The African American Experience at UofSC Tour
- South Caroliniana Library (Email: [email protected])
- USC Research Resources (Dr. Lydia Brandt)
Reconstruction Resources
- Class Library: Reconstruction Collection
- Reconstruction 360
- S.C. State Museum Virtual Exhibit
- Zinn Project: Reconstruction
History of Education Associations and Journals
- History of Education Society
- History of Education Quarterly
- Perspectives on the History of Higher Education
- Organization of Educational Historians
- American Educational History Journal
- Southern History of Education Society (SHOES)
Writing History
The best way to understand history is to do history. We do history by conducting research and writing up the results of our investigations. This requires reading published research, asking questions, and then going after the sources that will help us answer these questions. A useful document for helping you analyze archival sources is John Thelin's Guidelines for Analyzing Historical Documents (2014, p. xxi).
Most historical publications (books, journals, magazines) use the Chicago Manual of Style as the guide for citing sources. The Notes and Bibliography style is easiest for citing primary sources. Most of the books and articles we read for this class use this as the style guide. Chapter 14.229 provides several examples of how to cite primary sources. You can also use this "cheat sheet" I created as an easy reference. Regardless of which citation system you use, properly acknowledging your sources is essential.
- Guidelines for Analyzing Historical Documents (From Thelin, 2014, p. xxi)
- American Historical Association. “Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct.”
- Thomas Andrews and Flannery Burke, “What Does it Mean to Think Historically?” Perspectives on History (January 2007).
- Car. N. Degler. “Why Historians Change their Minds,” Pacific Historical Review 45 (May 1976), 167-184.
- “Doing History” podcast, Season 1 on “How Historians Work”
- Marybeth Gasman (ed.), The History of U.S. Higher Education: Methods for Understanding the Past (Routledge, 2010).
- Martha C. Howell & Walter Prevenier. From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods (Cornell University Press, 2005).